The Heckling Hare
The Heckling Hare is a 1941 Merrie Melodies cartoon starring Bugs Bunny and directed by Tex Avery. Summary Bugs is being hunted by a dog named Willoughby but the dog falls for every trap Bugs sets for him until they both fall off a cliff at the end. Plot Lost Ending Originally, the ending scene had Bugs and Willoughby fall off three cliffs. After the second tumble, Bugs then told the audience, "Hold on to your hats, folks. Here we go again!" during the third trip down. For reasons unknown, Schlesinger interfered with the production of this scene. the most popular story is that the "Hold on to your hats" line referred to a euphemism that was then in circulation.https://books.google.com/books?id=vsZYihpCoHMC&pg=PA59 Rationale of the Dirty Joke Another possible story was that Leon Schlesinger thought that Avery killed Bugs because there was no clear indication of whether or not the two survived.http://www.intanibase.com/gac/looneytunes/censored-h.aspx According to Martha Sigall, Schlesinger found the second fall to be repetitious and objected the repeats. He instructed Avery to cut it, but Avery insisted that it should remain, but as the boss, Schlesinger ruled over Fred.Sigall (2005), p. 49 Karl F. Cohen suggests that Schlesinger found inappropriate an ending which suggests that Bugs gets killed.Cohen (2004), p. 39 From Schlesinger's point of view the dispute was over his right to do as he pleased with the films he was paying for. From Avery's point of view, the dispute was over artistic interference.Cohen (2004), p. 39 Willoughby's line and the fade out to the end card are usually cut in TV versions (mostly those shown on the Ted Turner-owned cable networks TBS, TNT, Cartoon Network, and Boomerang) to cover up the fact that the cartoon had been edited in such an abrupt manner prior to release in theaters. Avery was suspended for four weeks for the dispute with his boss on April 2, 1941, the quarrel was reported in an article for The Hollywood Reporter.Cohen (2004), p. 39 During his suspension, Avery was hired by MGM. A similar line had been allowed in Daffy Duck & Egghead (1938, coincidentally also directed by Avery). Just before launching into his own take on The Merry-Go-Round Broke Down, Daffy Duck tells the audience, "Hold your seats, folks, here we go again!" Gallery 'Lobby Cards' 'Screencaps' Trivia Notes * This is the second-to-last Bugs Bunny cartoon directed by Tex Avery to be released. The last, All This and Rabbit Stew, was produced before this film. Additionally, it was the fifth cartoon for Bugs and the 55th cartoon Avery directed at Warner Bros. * The Merrie Melodies opening sequence also featured the first usage of the Warner Bros. shield logo zooming in with a carrot-munching Bugs Bunny lying on top of it. Here, after the zoom-in and a couple of bites of his carrot, Bugs pulls down the Merrie Melodies title screen like it is a shade. ** Starting with this cartoon, WARNER BROS. and Present are already on the screen, and would be for all future Bugs Bunny cartoons, excluding Hold the Lion, Please, until Bugs Bunny Nips the Nips. However, beginning with All This and Rabbit Stew, Bugs does not pulls down the Merrie Melodies title screen like a shade as in this cartoon; instead the WB shield title then fades to the Merrie Melodies title screen. After Nips the Nips, the Bugs Bunny head would appear after the WB shield zooms in starting with Hare Ribbin'. The head would appear replacing the WB shield in every Bugs cartoon from 1949 until the Termite Terrace studio closed. ** 1945 saw a revamped version of the Warner Bros. shield logo zooming in with a carrot-munching Bugs Bunny lying on top of it, beginning with Hare Trigger and ending with Hare Do. This version uses the modern Bugs Bunny design by Robert McKimson, and once again Bugs pulls down the Merrie Melodies/Looney Tunes title screen like a shade as in this one. Bugs' head would appear again replacing the WB shield in every Bugs cartoon from 1949 until the Termite Terrace studio closed. * The EU Turner dubbed transfer has the 1947-1948 MM dubbed card and keeps also the 1941-1955 MWRA ending music rendition. It has also Willoughby's line before the ending credits intact. The USA Turner dubbed version has the 1937-38 MM dubbed card and replaces the original ending music rendition to the MWRA rendition that was shown on the 1938-41 MM cartoons. It also censors Willoughby's line. * This cartoon is notable to have the longest falling sequence in the history of cinema. Censorship *Most televised versions of this cartoon, specifically the versions shown on the Ted Turner-owned cable networks such as TBS, TNT, Cartoon Network, and Boomerang, cut out Willoughby saying "Yeah!" as the cartoon ends to cover up the fact that the cartoon has a missing ending. The version released on home media (VHS, Laserdisc and the Golden Collection DVD set) do not restore the lost ending, but do leave in Willoughby saying, "Yeah!" just as the short abruptly ends. Availability *VHS - Cartoon Moviestars: Bugs Bunny Classics: Special Collector's Edition *Laserdisc - Cartoon Moviestars: Bugs Bunny Classics: Special Collector's Edition *VHS - Bugs Bunny Collection: The Very Best of Bugs *Laserdisc - The Golden Age of Looney Tunes, Vol. 1, Side 7: Bugs Bunny By Each Director *VHS - The Golden Age of Looney Tunes, Vol. 7: Bugs Bunny By Each Director *VHS - Looney Tunes: The Collectors Edition, Vol. 8: Tex-Book Looney *DVD - Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 2, Disc One References External Links * *The Heckling Hare at SuperCartoons.net *The Heckling Hare at B99.TV Category:Merrie Melodies shorts Category:Merrie Melodies Category:Bugs Bunny Category:Bugs Bunny shorts Category:Directed by Tex Avery Category:1940s shorts Category:1940s Category:1940s films Category:Shorts Category:Leon Schlesinger Studios Category:Animated shorts Category:Looney Tunes Category:Looney Tunes shorts Category:Films Category:Warner Bros. Cartoons Category:Warner Bros. Animation Category:1941 films Category:1941 shorts Category:Willoughby Category:Willoughby shorts Category:1941 Category:Story by Michael Maltese Category:Written by Michael Maltese Category:Animated by Robert McKimson Category:Animation by Robert McKimson Category:Music by Carl Stalling Category:Musical Direction by Carl W. Stalling Category:Musical Direction by Carl Stalling Category:Produced by Leon Schlesinger Category:Leon Schlesinger Productions Category:Cartoons produced by Leon Schlesinger Category:Cartoons directed by Tex Avery Category:Cartoons animated by Robert McKimson Category:Cartoons written by Michael Maltese Category:Voiced by Mel Blanc Category:Voice Characterizations by Mel Blanc Category:Cartoons with voices by Mel Blanc Category:Voices by Mel Blanc Category:Voiced by Tex Avery Category:Voices by Tex Avery Category:Cartoons with music by Carl Stalling Category:Cartoons with music by Carl W. Stalling Category:Music by Carl W. Stalling